


One of the Family

by bitsnbobs



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Christmas, Family, Fluff, Love, M/M, Togetherness, Tumblr idea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 06:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8878873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsnbobs/pseuds/bitsnbobs
Summary: 'Robert sighed as he sank down onto the sofa. He tried to ignore the hive of activity around him, not let it bother him, deciding that he would be ok settling in for some rubbish telly. It would still be a better Christmas than last year.'Robert still doesn't quite get that being with Aaron makes things different. (Now with added fluff and Liv-ness)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was prompted by an idea on tumblr. I hope you enjoy it :-)

Robert sighed as he sank down onto the sofa. He tried to ignore the hive of activity around him, not let it bother him, deciding that he would be ok settling in for some rubbish telly. It would still be a better Christmas than last year. And yet that fact didn't help him feel much better.

“Right, I’ve got the presents,” Chas confirmed as she passed by him with an armful of neatly wrapped gifts.

“You got the birthday ones as well?” Charity asked, filling her wine glass yet again.

Chas rolled her eyes, “Don’t you think you should lay off that for a bit now?”

“Oi,” Charity was insulted, “Christmas is about getting smashed off your face remember?”

“Yeah but…” Chas began, tilting her head, “We all know what this is really about.”

“Don’t” Charity pointed at her cousin warningly before taking a big gulp of wine, “If I am forced to be in a room with him at this merry, wonderful time of year, then I need wine, ok?”

“Ok,” Chas held up her hands in defeat and then looked across at where Liv and Noah had started to cause a commotion, “Hey, you two should be in the car already!”

“Yeah…yeah…oi…get off!” Liv laughed as Noah once again tried to ping one of the Christmas trees atop her head.

“You look like a right idiot, you know,” Noah chuckled as he backed away from Liv trying to hit him.

“Just because you’re all boring,” Liv shrugged, straightening the boppers on her head once more, “You’re not even wearing Christmas jumpers.”

“Excuse me, I am,” Chas said, opening her coat and flashing the red jumper beneath. 

“Yeah, and so am I,” Aaron stated, entering the room with a bunch of cards in his hand, “Which I still can’t quite believe but nevermind.”

“Same,” Robert snorted. Although he swallowed and lowered his head immediately after as he tried to ignore the twinge sadness that ran through him; he'd got dressed all festive and would still be spending most of the day alone. He was just about to pick up the remote when Aaron nudged his leg with his own,

“What you doing?” he asked but Robert wasn’t given chance to answer as Aaron shouted over to his sister, who was mucking about again, “Liv! Noah! Go and get in the car!”

“Yeah, alright,” Liv replied, rolling her eyes.

“Here,” Chas said, handing over presents to them, “help me with these.”

As the teenagers balanced the gifts between them and left with Chas in tow, Aaron nudged Robert again,

“Right, come on,” Aaron said, “Otherwise, we’ll be late and there won’t be any roast spuds left.”

“Oh yeah,” Charity said, picking up her jacket off the back of a chair, “You do not want to miss out on Lisa’s roast spuds. Or her homemade Yorkshire puds. Or, or, well, any of it really. The food will certainly make up for the company.”

Aaron raised his eyes to the heavens, “Just stay at the opposite end of the room to him.”

“Ha!” Charity exclaimed, moving closer with a sway, “That’s easy for you to say. You get to be all loved up with your man.”

Aaron shook his head and then looked down to Robert with a smirk. However, the smirk was lost when he saw the confused, far off look on his fiancés face. He lent down and touched Robert’s shoulder, “Hey? Is everything ok?”

Robert slowly turned and blinked up at him, “Huh?”

“Are you alright?” Aaron was concerned now, “If you’re not feeling well, we don’t have to go to dinner.”

Robert seemed to catch himself then and he stood up quickly, “No, no. I don’t want to miss out on those roast spuds.”

Aaron narrowed his eyes but when Robert smiled at him, he let the strange behaviour drop, “Right, ok… I’ll just go and grab our jackets then.” He gave his fiancé one last look before disappearing into the hall.

Robert had almost forgotten Charity was in the room when she spoke, 

“You didn’t think you were invited, did you?” 

Looking up at Charity, Robert could see a mixture of curiosity and amusement in her eyes and he suddenly felt irritated,

“I didn’t want to presume, alright?” he snapped. He ducked his head and braced himself for her to come back with some kind of sarcastic retort. He wasn’t expecting a hand to be placed on his arm,

“You’re one of the family now,” Charity told him sincerely, “Aaron loves you so…”

Robert looked up at her, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. His mouth suddenly felt really dry and he didn’t know what to do with the feelings that were overwhelming him.

Charity helped him out though by scoffing, “Mind you, after spending Christmas with our lot, you may be praying he dumps you.”

The smile on Robert’s face appeared as Aaron returned to the room. “That’s better,” Aaron commented, handing over a jacket.

“What?” Robert asked, taking the jacket and shrugging it on.

“You. Smiling again,” Aaron told him and Robert grinned even larger before leaning in to give his fiancé a kiss. 

“And we’re back to the snogging,” Charity groaned, stepping round them, “I’ll see you in the car.”

Aaron pulled away first, the last bit of worry coming out, “You sure you’re alright?”

Robert looked back at the love of his life, who had given him so much, and whispered softly, “Everything is more than alright.”

Aaron grinned, “Good. So…lets go eat.”

Robert nodded, “Lets.”

…


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you ever so much for the feedback. You guys are the best. Sorry (not sorry. lol) that I made some of you cry. 
> 
> Here is a second chapter that no-one asked for but hey, it's Christmas :-)

Robert's initial happiness turned to dread in the car- what if it was only Aaron that wanted him there? What if everyone was just going to be really awkward with him? He couldn’t voice any of these thoughts to Aaron either, given that the younger man was driving and they were all packed in like sardines. He was pretty sure they were breaking some kind of law by having teenagers sitting on each other’s laps in the back seat. Still, everyone else seemed happy enough. Except for when Aaron turned a corner a little sharply and Charity sloshed wine over the front seat. The argument that followed was almost enough for Robert to forget his worries but then they were stood outside the door to Wishing Well and they came flooding back. 

Aaron must have sensed something because he felt a hand on the small of his back. “Alright?” the younger man asked him.

“Yeah,” Robert nodded with more confidence then he felt. 

The door flew open and Chas, Charity and the kids were ushered inside with ‘Merry Christmas's being exchanged loudly and happily. Before Robert had chance to process anything, he was pushed forward slightly and had Lisa's warm arms enveloping him,

“Merry Christmas, love” she said brightly before pulling back. Robert felt like he was in a daze as more people kissed his cheeks in greeting and he realised he had completely lost contact with Aaron. Also he was somehow now inside the cottage. 

“Do you want a drink?” Marlon asked him. Robert blinked at the chef who he hadn’t noticed was stood in front of him. 

“Hey, Robert?” the chef asked again, “You want a drink?”

“Erm, yeah,” Robert shook his head and tried to focus, “I’ll have a beer, cheers.”

“Ok,” Marlon smiled and walked off to the kitchen.

“Overwhelming, isn’t it?” A female voice came from Robert’s right and he turned to see Carly grinning and gesturing to the room full of Dingles.

Robert nodded, “Just a bit.”

“I’ve never known a family like this,” Carly said taking a sip of wine.

Robert looked across the room and all he could see was happy faces, laughter, teasing and well, just plain joy. He also relocated his fiancé who was sharing a joke with Cain in the kitchen. He smiled, “Nope, can't say I have either.”

“No?” Carly glanced at him surprised, “Not even with the Whites?”

Robert's wince must have been obvious because Carly apologised but he just shrugged her off, “They were never as warm as this.”

“Here you go,” Marlon said, making his return, handing over a beer to Robert and then sitting down with Carly.

“Thanks,” Robert said after him and then smiled as Aaron came to stand by his side,

“Sorry,” the younger man bit his lip, “Didn’t mean to leave-"

“It’s fine, I'm ok” Robert interrupted him, finding he meant it, “You've got a big family to mingle with.”

Aaron snorted, “Well, you best get used to it too.”

Robert put a hand round Aaron's waist, “I think I can manage that.” He took a swig of his beer and closed his eyes momentarily. He couldn’t believe he had been so worried, he couldn’t believe-

“Right!” Lisa's voice cut through his thoughts, “Aaron and Robert you are up the other end with Chas and Cain.”

Lisa was waving her arms around and directing people to their seats around the large table in the middle of the room. Robert followed instruction finding himself seated between Aaron and Chas with a subdued Cain opposite. However, somewhere during dinner, which was delicious, Robert caught Cain smiling at him. He ignored it the first time, thinking he must have imagined it and besides, there was far too much other stuff going on that the smile may not have necessarily have been for him. Robert had never known such a meal; everyone talking and laughing. He was included on several occasions with various questions about the house and the wedding. He never felt uncomfortable. In fact, even when Liv let everyone know that she'd heard him singing Beyoncé in the shower, Aaron had told everyone to back off because although his choice in music may not be great, he had a good voice. Although, half the ladies in the room then got defensive over Beyoncé and Robert just chuckled as Aaron rolled his eyes and left to get another beer. 

It was then that he couldn’t ignore Cain smiling at him again. Robert hated that it unsettled him,

“Have I done something?” he asked as the rest of the table turned to other topics of conversation.

Cain looked at him for a moment and Robert swallowed. The younger man was just beginning to wish he hadn’t asked when Cain lent forward,

“Aaron is happy.”

Robert blinked and glanced towards his fiancé in the kitchen; he was talking with Zak. He did look good, really good,

“Yeah,” Robert smiled turning back to Cain. He didn’t realise Chas had listened in too,

“I, erm, I...” Chas started by his side, “I invited Gordon last year.”

Robert's face fell. His blood running cold as it often did when that name was mentioned.

“Yeah,” Cain pinched his nose, “Last year wasn’t a good Christmas for our Aaron.”

“We didn’t know,” Chas said sadly. 

Looking between the siblings, it dawned on Robert that while he was enjoying this Christmas more than ever, Aaron probably was too. He’d never actually stopped to think that this was different for his fiancé. That Aaron had had unhappy Christmas' even when surrounded by family. He suddenly felt the need to be close to him. 

“I need to-“ Robert began but then he just decided to stand up and forget everyone else. He headed straight to Aaron and took hold of his hand, leading him from the cottage without explanation. Thankfully, Aaron put up little protest but he was looking at Robert with wide, confused eyes as they stood outside.

“What’s going on?” Aaron questioned.

Robert took a breath, “I, erm, I just wanted to...I couldn’t...”

“Hey, hey,” Aaron soothed as Robert struggled with his words, “What's wrong?”

Robert stared at the younger man before smiling and enveloping him in a hug, “Absolutely nothing.”

Aaron rubbed a hand down his back and relaxed against him.

“Merry Christmas, Aaron,” Robert whispered in his ear.

“Yes, it is,” came the reply. 

...


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again for all your lovely comments. Means a lot. And someone asked for more so... one last chapter :-)
> 
> Merry Christmas Everyone!

Robert didn’t think he had ever seen anything descend into chaos as fast. One minute Belle was opening her presents and the next, they were all pooling out into the night air to avoid being caught up in World War 3. Zak was definitely in trouble.

They’d made it back to the pub. Well, Robert, Liv and Aaron had; the others had dispersed to different places but Robert found he didn’t care. He was quite grateful now for the quiet.

He looked across at Aaron as he shrugged his coat off in the hall, “You ok?”

Aaron looked up, and grimaced, “Yeah…just can’t believe Uncle Zak’s done it again, you know? It’s like a repeat of last year.”

Liv puffed out a disbelieving laugh, “That happened last year too?”

“Similar,” Aaron shrugged, he bit his lip, “I wasn’t actually there to witness it though.”

Liv frowned, “Why? Where were you?”

Robert caught Aaron flicking his eyes to him, caught the flash of pain there so he interrupted, “Hey, why don’t you put the kettle on, eh? I could use a brew.”

“I don’t-" Liv began to protest but Robert gave her a pointed look and thankfully she relented, “Fine.”

When she had left, Robert put his hands on Aaron’s waist, pulling him closer, “You ok?”

Aaron nodded, “Yeah. Yeah, I am.” A small, shy smile started to appear on the younger man’s face. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Robert frowned, “What for?”

All he got for an answer though was a gentle kiss to his cheek before Aaron pulled back and said, “I’m just gonna grab my phone charger.”

Robert blinked up the stairs after him, feeling a kind of tinkling feeling run through him that he couldn’t quite place. Laughing gently to himself, he moved to the living room.

“You know,” Liv started when she saw him, “I probably shouldn’t be saying this but even with the fighting, it was still the best Christmas I’ve had.”

That made Robert stop. He looked across at the young teen pulling cups out of the cupboard and humming happily to herself. He stepped closer, “You didn’t celebrate much with your mum?”

Liv froze and Robert immediately felt guilty, “I’m sorr-"

“No, no,” Liv said, brushing off his apology quickly. She turned to face him, “It’s fine. It’s just…well, there was only really ever us. The two of us. And last year, we’d just moved again so the house was in boxes and she took off to bed early so it was…me and the TV.”

For the second time, Robert was hit with the fact that he wasn’t the only one finding this Christmas more special than others. And for the second time, he needed to do something,

“Come here,” Robert said, pulling his future sister-in-law into a hug. He chuckled as she put up more protest than her brother,

“Rob?” She questioned, confused and not entirely comfortable, “What are you doing?”

Robert’s response was to just squeeze her tighter so she laughed, “You’re mad you,” she huffed against his chest.

“Ok…what did I miss?” Aaron asked, re-entering the room with a curious grin.

Robert finally released Liv and smiled, “Just sharing some festive love.”

“Right…” Aaron said narrowing his eyes as he walked over to run a warm hand down Robert’s arm.

Liv snorted and nudged Robert playfully, “I think Christmas has made him extra soppy.”

Robert glanced between the two siblings and then it hit him; they were his family. The family that had chosen him. Yes, it was nice to know that the Dingle’s accepted him but all that really mattered was in this room. After all Aaron would’ve stayed behind with him and skipped dinner. 

Robert was loved. 

“Hey,” Aaron said softly, “You sure you’re ok? You’ve been a bit strange all day?”

“He’s always strange,” Liv added, going back to making the tea.

Robert snorted then took a breath and planted a kiss on Aaron’s head, “I am more than ok.”

Aaron’s beautiful blue eyes blinked up at him a little disbelievingly but the sheer joy and contentment on Robert’s face must have been enough to halt anymore questions. 

“You know what I think?” Robert said, standing up straight and pointing between them, “I think the Dingle-Flaherty-Sugden family need to start a new tradition.”

Aaron scoffed. “Yeah, ‘cause that’s not long-winded,” he said, completely missing the point. 

Liv had scrunched up her nose as though trying to work something out. “DFS!” she exclaimed.

“You what?” Robert blinked.

“Dingle-Flaherty-Sugden,” Liv explained, “We’re the DFS family.”

“Isn’t that a furniture store?” Aaron said, trying not to laugh.

Liv frowned and smacked her brother on the arm, “Shut-up.”

Robert couldn’t help himself, he grabbed both Aaron and Liv by a shoulder each and pulled them in close, completely ignoring their squirming and giggling,

“What is wrong with you?” Liv asked, trying to re-position the boppers on her head.

“I’m trying to arrange a new family tradition here and you two aren’t paying attention,” Robert said, almost banging their heads together.

“Oh,” Aaron leant up and gave him a kiss, “Sorry.”

Liv pulled out her tongue, “Urgh. Don’t do that.” 

Aaron and Robert shared a look and then both dived in to pepper Liv’s head with kisses. None of them noticed Sam and Samson barge in to the room,

“It’s snowing! It’s snowing! It’s snowing!” Samson was shouting excitedly.

Sam stopped when he saw the scene he had interrupted and scratched his head, looking across apologetically, “Yeah…erm…sorry…we just thought you might want to know.”

“It’s snowing!” Samson repeated again loudly.

Robert, Aaron and Liv laughed and glanced at each other.

“Our new tradition could just be having fun together?” Aaron said, looking at Robert for approval.

“Yeah,” Liv agreed, “Can we make a snowman?”

Robert’s heart nearly burst; everything was perfect.

“Let’s grab our coats,” he grinned.

…


End file.
